GHOST OF YOU | BWS

four.

Tonight, I am meeting the man who killed my brother. In less than an hour, I will be face-to-face with the person who's been haunting my every thoughts, day and night. Tonight, that man will pay for what he's done. The minutes couldn't pass any slower as I pace around my living room, eager to get on with it. I have been thinking about that moment for months now, thinking about the day I'd see the life leave his body, and now that it is finally here, I couldn't be more impatient. Before I leave, I call my parents to tell them everything is going well at school and tell them goodbye without them having a clue that it might be the last time I talk to them. Because the truth is, I don't expect to leave the bar alive tonight. Let's face it, what are my chances against five gang members and their boss? But as long as Reggie doesn't leave alive either, I don't care if I die tonight. I care so little in fact that I haven't even thought of a proper plan to get the job done. Will he have security with him? Should I bring a knife? After thinking about it too much, I decide not to bring anything and to simply improvise once I am at the bar. I get going as the bar is located on the other side of the city, in one of the notorious poorer neighbourhoods, and it will take me some time to go there. The way there goes by quite quickly, as I focus on my objective, trying to ignore the knot that formed in my stomach. I mean, only psychopaths don't get nervous before killing someone, right? So I guess it's a good sign that I am finally starting to feel anxious. I reach the bar after having to walk in the dark through the dodgy streets of the neighbourhood where all the drug dealers of the city seem to hang at night and get hit by a strong smell of liquor and cigarettes as soon as I enter. I look around, checking if the gang is there already, but apparently I beat them. I receive a few stares from the heavily pierced and tattooed dudes sitting around the room as I make my way to a free table. It's covered in all sorts of liquids, and I try my best not to question their origin as I keep my hands off the table. There is not one single female in this bar, and judging by the crowd, I get why. The atmosphere feels heavy with testosterone, and I'm barely able to hear my own thoughts with how loud it is, between the chatter and the fighting. You would have asked me to come even a kilometre close to this bar a year ago and I would have laughed to your face before running the other way. Funny how things change. The more I wait here, by myself, the more eyes I feel on me, and I start to wonder if this was a good idea. Are they even going to show up? And just as the thought of them standing me up comes across my mind, the door opens, and I see the five familiar faces I was waiting for. Hold on. Five. Where's Reggie? I try not to come to any conclusion as the group makes its way towards me, greeting and nodding at some of the dudes sitting around me. Clearly they all know each other here. The five of them take a sit, two in front of me, one next to me and two on either side of the table. I can't help but notice the way the guy who wasn't at school today looks at me, so intensely with his hazel eyes, as if he knows me. Shit, can he tell I'm Charlie's sister? My entire plan is about to blow up at my face.

"I'm surprised you came in this neighbourhood alone, Snow White", Is, who sits right in front of me says, a smirk on his lips. "Brave or stupid?", he adds, making his friends laugh. All of them except the one whose stare I can still feel burning my skin. A sigh of relief escapes my lips as he stays quiet, simply looking at me in silence. He might not have put two and two together after all.

"Where's Reggie?" I ask, ignoring what Is had just said. A sly smile appears on his lips while Red Hair guy and Thing One and Two laugh like I just asked the stupidest question.

"Did you really think we'd make him come all the way here for you?" Is says and my heart stops. He's not gonna come. Of course, he's not gonna come, why would he come to meet a fake aspiring drug dealer who has no clue what she's doing? They probably saw right through me, and I'm about to find out if I was right about Red Hair guy being the arms of the gang. "We first need a little..." he adds before interrupting himself, as if looking for his words, his smirk never leaving his lips. "Proof. You know, proof that you know what you're getting into and that you've got the guts for it". My heartbeat starts to accelerate as I realize everything's not lost. I still have a chance to get to Reggie.